02/23/2010 Written by SCCA Communications
Photo:Courtesy of HPD
Release Courtesy of Honda Racing
TORRANCE, Calif. (February 19, 2010) – Honda
Performance Development recently began shipping 1.5-liter Honda Fit
engines to racers planning to run the engine in Sports Car Club of
America (SCCA) Formula F competition. Through its introduction to the
category, HPD hopes to strengthen FF’s position as the first step in
American open-wheel auto racing.
The initial batch of
fuel-injected Honda L15A7 overhead-cam engines was shipped to
competitors who had previously secured their orders via cash deposit.
The Fit engine can be adapted for installation in existing FF chassis.
“This
is an exciting day for all of us at HPD,” said Erik Berkman, president
of Honda Performance Development. “We hope that this foundational step
in our grassroots motorsports initiative will help grow the FF class by
making it more affordable and competitive.”
The Honda FF engine
was developed by HPD in cooperation with Maryland-based Quicksilver
RacEngines. The engine was developed to equal the performance of the
traditional Kent power plant through utilization of an intake
restrictor plate and appropriately mapped Engine Control Unit (ECU), as
confirmed during comparative testing with representative Kent engines
under SCCA supervision. Final track output will be mandated by the SCCA
through its restrictor determination.
Honda-powered FFs are approved for SCCA competition effective March 1, 2010.
Developed
from the current Honda Fit, introduced in 2009, the L15A7 engine in FF
form is intended to provide open-wheel racers with a modern,
fuel-injected design offering superior service life, increased
availability and lower operating costs. Engine rebuilds will be
reduced, with a corresponding reduction in the need for top-end
refreshing. In addition, crankshaft and valve-spring life should be
extended dramatically; and most ignition and all carburetor maintenance
will be eliminated.
“Many of us at HPD, myself included,
have been involved in FF racing,” said Marc Sours, HPD Production
Division Manager and Large Project Leader for HPD’s grassroots effort.
“We believe in the class and want to see it grow in popularity. With
the delivery of this first batch of Honda FF engines, and future
orders, we are hoping to increase participation through economical
competition.”
Honda Fit race engines can be purchased as a
complete package, including a base L15A7 engine and FF engine
conversion kit (including intake, exhaust, dry sump, lightweight
alternator, restrictor plate and ECU). Individual component parts will
also be available for purchase separately.
HPD also offers
chassis kits for three of the most popular FF designs: the Swift DB-1,
Swift DB-6 and Van Diemen RF99-09 models. Several current race-car
manufacturers, including Fast Forward Components (Piper) and Citation
Engineering, offer FF chassis ready to accept the Fit engine.
For
more information on the Honda Fit FF engine, racers can explore the HPD
website, http://racing.honda.com/hpd, or contact the company at:
Honda Performance Development, Inc.
661-702-7777
grmsadmin@hra.com
Honda
Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North
America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is
the technical operations center for American Honda’s high-performance
racing cars and engines. In addition to its new grassroots motorsports
business, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and
spearheaded Acura’s championship-winning efforts in the 2009 American
Le Mans Series.
Quicksilver RacEngines (QSRE) is a private
company in Frederick, MD, owned and operated by Sandy Shamlian since
1973. QSRE engines have been a staple in open-wheel and sports-car
racing, logging countless professional and amateur race wins and
championships in the USA, England, Venezuela, Australia and Canada in
classes such as Zetec F2000, Formula Continental Sports 2000, Formula
Atlantic and FF1600.
